Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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287. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons who are on public or Civil Service pensions who have been recruited for work on any basis, permanent or temporary, under the remit of her Department in 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39547/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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My Department collates information in relation to individuals who retired from the civil service and are re-engaged to undertake specific tasks. It also collates information in relation to retired teachers who are re-engaged by schools. It does not collate information in relation to individuals engaged who retired from positions in the wider public service.

My Department engages the services of retired civil servants from time to time to perform various defined tasks that require their particular expertise and experience. Payments made to retired civil servants in respect of such work are determined in accordance with the abatement principle whereby total earnings in any year, inclusive of pension, cannot exceed the retirement salary of the retired individual. The number of civil servants re-engaged in the year 2012 was twenty four and in the year 2013 was thirty one. As data in relation to the re-engagement of retired civil servants is compiled retrospectively at the commencement of each new year, details in relation to 2014 will not be available until early 2015.

In relation to teachers, retired teachers are employed in a substitute capacity for casual/non casual absences in primary and post primary schools. Because of the casual nature of the employment figures are compiled for specific periods. In December 2012 there were 174 primary and 91 post primary retired teachers who had worked for some period of time in the 2012/13 school year and in December 2013, 113 primary and 82 post primary retired teachers had been employed in the 2013/2014 school year. Figures for 14/15 school year are not available at this time.

Circular 31/2011 issued in May of 2011 and set out a cascading set of measures for appointment of teachers with effect from September 2011. These required that schools prioritise unemployed teachers over those in receipt of a pension where possible. Only where a school cannot source an appropriately qualified and registered teacher may they move to the recruitment of a retired appropriately qualified teacher.